Forest Shadows
by xShadowheartx
Summary: MountainClan, GrassClan, and ForestClan have lived in peace for moons. Creampaw, Honeypaw, and Rabbitpaw of MountainClan will soon be warriors, and all seems well. But Shadestar, the leader of ForestClan, has a grudge to settle, and cats start dying from mysterious attacks in the forest. Creampaw and her siblings will be put the the test in their fight to save their clan.


Creampaw trotted along at the back of the patrol, looking anxiously across the border into ForestClan territory. The clans were tense with it being Leafbare, and ForestClan had been hostile on the last few encounters. The border patrol had yet to see any sign of the other clan, but cats could easily be hidden in the dense forest.

Creampaw's mentor, Snowflower, dropped back to be next to her. "Looking for ForestClan cats?" the white she-cat asked.

Creampaw glanced away in embarrassment. "There's just so many of them."

"MountainClan is plenty strong enough," Snowflower said with a flick of her tail. "We have nothing to worry about," she said reassuringly. "Besides, ForestClan would be insane if they thought a battle in Leafbare was a good idea."

"What about GrassClan?" Creampaw asked. "Poppypaw said they looked sick at the last gathering," she said, referring to her friend; an apprentice a few moons older than her. At the sound of her name the tortoiseshell she-cat looked back at them over her shoulder.

"They didn't look good," Poppypaw agreed.

Snowflower shook her head. "It's Leafbare. Cats will be skinnier. Come on, Icetooth is getting impatient." She quickened her pace to catch up with the huge light gray tom who was waiting for them up ahead with Silverpool, Poppypaw's mentor. He waited for them to catch up and then turned and continued on.

"What do you think, Icetooth?" Poppypaw asked the large warrior.

He glanced back at them. "I think you should focus on the patrol," he said gruffly.

Poppypaw rolled her eyes and Creampaw had to restrain herself from snorting. Icetooth was the oldest warrior in MountainClan and liked to remind his clanmates.

There was a rustling sound across the border and Icetooth halted. Creampaw saw Snowflower and Silverpool tense, and she glanced at Poppypaw, who was staring in concern at the ForestClan territory.

Five cats strode towards their patrol. Creampaw recognized the brown apprentice Shrewpaw and his mentor Waspsting, and the gray and white she-cat Waterpelt, but she didn't know who the two other toms were.

"What are MountainClan cats doing so close to the border?" The black tom hissed. He came nose to nose with Icetooth, and Creampaw tensed.

"Don't be mousebrained, Blackfang," Icetooth said addressing the black tom. "We're doing the same thing you're doing; patrolling our borders." Icetooth stared calmly back and the other warrior.

Blackfang looked over at Creampaw and Poppypaw. "Is MountainClan running so low on warriors that they send kits out on patrol?" He sneered.

Poppypaw bristled. "We're both old enough to be apprentices," she hissed.

Icetooth shot her a warning glance. "There's no reason for trouble. We're on our side of the border."

"For now." Blackfang said. He turned and stalked off, his patrol following him.

Icetooth stood and watched them until they disappeared, then shook his head and turned back towards MountainClan's territory.

"What does that mean, Icetooth?" Silverpool asked, her gray fur ruffled in distress. "For now?"

"Who knows. Empty threats meant to scare us. I wouldn't worry about it," Icetooth said. "Come on, it's time for us to head back."

The cats followed Icetooth back towards MountainClan's camp, which was situated at the base of a large mountain range. The majority of their territory was covered in pine trees, although the trees thinned out close to the border with GrassClan. Creampaw smelled no prey on their way back to camp, only the fresh scent of pine needles.

The MountainClan camp was pressed up against the mountain. One side of the camp was backed by the sharp slope of the mountain, and the other three sides were made up of branches and brambles weaved together to form walls. The entrance was a narrow slit in the brambles opposite of the mountain wall. The whole clearing was shaded by the tall pine trees that grew around it.

The warrior den was the largest of the dens, and was built from brambles. The apprentices' and elders' dens were also made of brambles, and all three dens were pressed up against the camp barrier. The nursery, medicine cat den, and leader's den were situated in small alcoves in the mountain side, and the entrances were covered with more brambles.

The patrol slipped through the narrow entrance and entered the camp. Three kits came racing towards them. They slid to a stop in front of the patrol and looked up eagerly at them.

"Did you fight ForestClan?" one of the kits, a brown tabby tom, asked.

Snowflower purred. "No Kestrelkit. We were just on a border patrol. Why would we get in a fight with ForestClan?"

"They're bullies," Birdkit, a gray and cream tortoiseshell she-cat, piped up. "Dawnkit and I heard Spiderfang say they were all mousebrained." Her cream colored sister nodded seriously.

Snowflower narrowed her eyes slightly, and Creampaw guessed she thought the deputy should be more careful about what he said around the kits.

"I should go talk to Wolfstar," Icetooth said. He stalked off to where the large gray tom was sitting with his deputy across the clearing. Silverpool followed him. Wolfstar and Spiderfang stopped their conversation when they saw the two warriors approaching them and meowed a greeting. Creampaw saw Wolfstar's gaze grow darker as he listened to Icetooth and Silverpool.

"There you are!" a light brown and cream she-cat exclaimed. She hurried over towards them, and the three kits looked up at her sheepishly. "I told you to stay by the nursery!" She looked up at Snowflower apologetically. "I'm sorry, I turned around for a moment and they snuck off!"

"It's alright, Fawnleap," Snowflower said kindly. "They weren't bothering us."

Fawnleap shook her head and flicked her tail around her three kits. "Come on you three, back to the nursery." The kits let out mews of protest as they were herded away towards the nursery, where the two other queens, Paleberry and Dappledwing, were basking in the sun.

"Why don't you two go check on the elders," Snowflower said to Creampaw and Poppypaw. They both groaned.

"Can't we go hunting or something," Poppypaw whined.

Snowflower flicked the tortoiseshell she-cat on the ear with her tail. "There are already two patrols out hunting. Go take care of the elders; it's your job as apprentices. I'm going to go play with kits," she purred, and trotted off to where Fawnleap, Paleberry, and Dappledwing were keeping a close eye on the Kestrelkit, Birdkit, and Dawnkit.

Creampaw nudged her friend. "Come on, let's go. We can talk to them about ForestClan. They might know what's going on." Poppypaw brightened at the idea of gossip, and followed Creampaw across the clearing the elders' den.

They nudged their way into the small den, and Creampaw paused for a moment to let her eyes adjust to the dim light. "Hello Whitefoot," she nodded at the white tom. "Willowfur." The light gray she-cat mewed a greeting.

"How are you doing today?" Creampaw asked respectfully.

"I slept on a thorn all night. You apprentices need to check the moss you bring in more thoroughly," Whitefoot grumbled. The white tom narrowed his eyes as he looked up at Creampaw and Poppypaw, but Creampaw knew it was most likely do to his failing sight, and not out of anger.

"Oh stop," Willowfur flicked Whitefoot with her paw. "When did you become so grumpy," she teased.

Poppypaw sighed. "I'll check your nest for any thorns," Whitefoot." The old white tom heaved himself up out of his nest and moved out of the way.

While Poppypaw began pawing through the moss, Creampaw searched Willowfur and Whitefoot for ticks. "So," she began, "We ran into a ForestClan patrol today." She found a tick on Willowfur, bit down, and pulled it off with a quick yank.

"Did you now?" Willowfur asked, licking her fur where the tick had just been.

Creampaw nodded. "They seemed very hostile."

Whitefoot snorted. "ForestClan is always like that." Willowfur nodded in agreement.

"Ah ha!" Poppypaw exclaimed, and pulled a thorn out of Whitefoot's nest. She set it down by the entrance of the den and continued searching through the moss, careful of anymore thorns that may be hidden.

Creampaw moved on to Whitefoot's pelt. "They seemed more unfriendly than usual. Blackfang said something about us being on our side of the border 'for now'. It sounded like a threat."

"And he asked if MountainClan was so weak that they sent kits out on patrol," Poppypaw added.

Whitefoot shook his head. "I blame Shadestar," he said, referring to the ForestClan leader. "That tom is the rudest furball I've ever met. His warriors take after him."

"But why is he like that?" Creampaw asked. "Did something make him like that?"

"Who knows," Whitefoot snorted. He flinched as Creampaw pulled a tick off of him.

"Now Whitefoot you know that's not true," Willowfur meowed. The old gray she-cat paused to make sure she had Creampaw and Poppypaw's attention. "When Shadestar was still a warrior ForestClan was attacked by foxes. They sent for help from MountainClan and GrassClan, but neither would help them. They didn't think they owed ForestClan anything, especially with how they treat everyone else. ForestClan managed to drive the foxes off, but Shadestar's mother was killed. He was always ill-mannered before, but he got much worse after that."

Creampaw felt unease creeping up as she listened to the story. She had thought that the leader had always been like that, but he actually had somewhat of an excuse to be angry with the two other clans. She could tell Poppypaw was thinking the same thing, from her unusual silence.

Willowfur, sensing the apprentices' unease, quickly added, "I wouldn't worry too much. ForestClan is known for their empty threats."

Creampaw nodded but said nothing. She and Poppypaw finished going through the moss and looking for ticks, and, after meowing quick goodbyes to Whitefoot and Willowfur, slipped back out of the elders den.

"Did you know any of that?" Creampaw asked Poppypaw. Her friend shook her head. Creampaw opened her mouth to say more, but at that moment a stream of cats came through the camp entrance. Both hunting patrols had come back at the same time.

Coppersplash, a dark ginger she-cat, was the first to enter the camp. She was followed by Lightningclaw, a golden tabby tom, Sootwhisker, a dark gray tom, and Thistlefall, a gray tabby tom. Only Sootwhisker and Thistlefall carried any prey, and the small mice that the two toms carried were hardly enough for one cat to eat. Thistlefall carried his two small mice to the crevice where the prey was kept, while Sootwhisker took his mouse directly to Fawnleap, his mate. He purred as Kestrelkit, Birdkit, and Dawnkit crowded around him in excitement.

The second patrol consisted of Applefrost, a ginger and white she-cat, Toadstripe, a dark brown tabby tom, and their two apprentices, Honeypaw and Rabbitpaw. Creampaw brightened as she recognized her brother and sister. They saw her and trotted over, while Toadstripe took a squirrel and blackbird over to the prey pile.

Honeypaw had light golden tabby fur, while Rabbitpaw had light brown fur. Creampaw fell in between her two siblings with her light creamy fur.

"How was hunting?" Creampaw asked her siblings.

"There's no prey out there," Honeypaw responded. "How was your patrol?" She asked Creampaw and Poppypaw.

Creampaw and Poppypaw shared a glance, then told the two other apprentices what had happened.

Rabbitpaw's eyes grew big. "Do you think they're planning something?" He asked.

Honeypaw, however, didn't look as concerned. "It's just ForestClan being ForestClan," she said, and began grooming her soft golden fur. "They're all talk and no bite."

Creampaw saw Spiderfang approaching them and the apprentices grew quiet. The deputy looked angry.

"Have you seen Frozenpaw?" the black tom asked, his tail twitching in agitation.

Creampaw, Rabbitpaw, and Honeypaw shook their heads and looked at Poppypaw. The tortoiseshell apprentice glared at them. "I'm not my brother's keeper," she meowed indignantly.

Spiderfang sighed. "I know you aren't, Poppypaw. He's my apprentice; I should know where he is. I can't find Darkpelt either," he said. "Those two are always running off. Darkpelt acts like he's still an apprentice." He shook his head. "Keep your eyes open for them." He turned and stalked off.

Honeypaw rolled her eyes. "Frozenpaw will never become a warrior if he keeps getting in trouble like this."

Poppypaw nodded in agreement. She was the complete opposite of her brother. They didn't even look like siblings, as Frozenpaw was a pale silver tabby. "Darkpelt doesn't help," Poppypaw said. "He always goes along with Frozenpaw."

They sat in silence for a moment.

"Do you think Mossdapple has had any dreams about ForestClan," Rabbitpaw mused suddenly. He was watching the mottled gray medicine cat sort through herbs in front of her den.

Honeypaw sighed. "I think we're overreacting about ForestClan. They always brag about being big in strong. Blackfang was just running his mouth." She paused. "Right?"

Creampaw nodded, but she could tell they were all wondering the same thing. Was ForestClan planning something?


End file.
